Game background of the Pirate Age

A long time ago, some Teutons crossed Denmark and migrated northward, crossing the Skakylak Sea and the Strait of Cattegat to Sweden and Norway, becoming the earliest people there

settled residents. These Teutons were the ancestors of the Normans. The Normans mainly refer to the residents who lived in Scandinavia in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages. And they have another name: Vikings. "Viking" means people who invaded countries near the fjord. Some historians also call "Vikings" "pirates". This name comes mainly from the magnificent "piracy activities" in the history of European medieval times. It originated in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway in Scandinavia, starting in the mid-to-late 8th century and ending in the mid-to-late 11th century. In addition to the well-known places such as the British Isles and France, the influence reaches Russia and the Caspian Sea in the east, the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and as far away as Greenland and even North America in the west.

In people’s minds, “pirates” mean robbing and killing. But in fact, "piracy" is not only a kind of armed robbery, but also includes peaceful aspects such as commercial trade, cultural exchanges, immigration and colonization. "Pirates" not only left people with terror and suffering, they also left people with their own unique and precious cultural heritage. The civilization created by the Nordic people in the Viking Age (700-1000) is called "Viking Civilization".

The Norman social order was based on family rules, economic cooperation, and legitimate beliefs. Among the Normans, abandoned children could be abandoned at will and left to die or live, but as long as they were taken in, the child would receive legal training and love. Before the introduction of Christianity, when Scandinavians named their children, they poured water over their heads to show that the family accepted them.

Norman education was very practical: girls learned daily household skills, including brewing; boys learned swimming, skiing, carving wood and metal making, wrestling, rowing, skating, playing hockey, and more importantly What's more, they also need to learn hunting, bow and arrow combat skills, and the use of swords and spears. High jumping was a common sport and some Normans could jump higher than their own height. Many children were taught to read and write and trained to become doctors and legal professionals. The Normans liked to sing and play musical instruments. Their most distinctive instrument was the harp.

A Norman woman's marriage is usually decided by her parents. Although they have the right to veto the arrangement, if she marries against her parents' will, her husband will be regarded as a criminal, and the woman's Relatives could legally put him to death. There must be a good reason for a man to divorce his wife, otherwise the woman's family can murder him at will. When a woman first gets married, she enjoys 1/3 of her husband's property rights. After 20 years of marriage, she can obtain half of her husband's property rights. She can provide him with advice on career planning and can freely deal with the male guests at home.

The Normans respected and admired labor. Fishing and hunting are common industries; the Normans used their will and physical strength to open up the Swedish forests and turn the frozen slopes of Norway into arable land; the wheat fields in Minnesota in the United States have soil mixed with Norwegian soil. Scandinavia is famous for its widespread free farmers who were able to equally divide large areas of cultivated land, and large landowners were rare. Unwritten protection laws have mitigated the losses caused by many disasters: if a family's house burns down, neighbors must help rebuild it; if a family's cattle die of illness or are lost, neighbors must use their own cattle to replenish half of the family's loss.

Almost every Norman was a craftsman, especially skilled in bamboo crafts. Although the technology of ironmaking was not introduced to Northern Europe until the 8th century, they soon produced a variety of strong and beautiful tools, weapons, bronze decorations, gold and silver and other decorations. The shields, patterned swords, rings, clips and bells they made are all representatives of beauty and pride. The ships and warships they built were no larger than those of ancient times, but they were stronger: the flat bottom was highly stable, and the oars were pointed and could be used to ram the enemy; the depth of the ship was 4 to 6 feet, and the length was 60 to 180 feet. Equipped with parallel sails or using entirely wooden oars, often with 10, 16 or 60 oars per side, these simple ships carried Norman explorers, traders, pirates and warriors down the rivers of Russia and into the Caspian Sea , the Black Sea, or across the Atlantic to Iceland, Labrador and other places.

Norman society was divided into classes such as counts, peasants, landowners and slaves. They sternly teach their children that a person's class originates from God's will, and only dishonest people dare to change it. Emperors were chosen from a line of honor, magistrates from the class of counts. Accompanying this system of monarchs and aristocrats is a democratic system. The specific forms of this democratic system include local parents' meetings, village assemblies, provincial meetings, and Baal Gates from bottom to top.

The outstanding feature of Norman law was heavy penalties. The arsonist was tied to a stake and burned to death, the murderer of the elders was hung next to a live wolf that was also hung, and those who betrayed the government were quartered by five horses or dragged to death by wild horses. Although these legal provisions were barbaric and cruel, they eventually legalized society. The pirates finally submitted to the law and became seafaring merchants, using their brains instead of force.

The Normans feared and worshiped gods. They believed that the forces and incarnations of nature were gods of personal relevance. They even used human sacrifices as a way to atone for their sins from God.

The father of the gods is "Odin", which means wood in Germanic. He sought wisdom on the earth. He invented the alphabet, taught his people to write, pursue poetry, art and obey the law.

Around the 8th to 12th centuries, a great poetic work appeared on the peninsula. It was called "The Poetic Ada" by later generations, most of which narrated Scandinavia and Germanic folk songs of heroic deeds. The environment in early Scandinavia was harsh, which meant that only the strongest-minded people could survive in the living environment; the ancient custom of blood revenge and lawless robbery at sea all reflected the Norman nation. Characteristics also create Nietzsche's arrogant courage. A Viking said: "Tell you where my confidence lies - I only believe in my own strength." The Vikings were warlike and brave. They believed that cowardice was sin, while strength was kindness. The "men of the fjord" grew up in hardships and were eager to occupy more land, wealth and power. From this point of view, the arrival of "Pirate Age" is natural.